Ordering A Ring Sling From Sleeping Baby Productions

A brief personal back story – I wore my son pretty often from the newborn stage up until he started walking and didn’t want to be worn any longer. I wore him using my ergo carrier, which I always felt comfortable in and, most importantly, he enjoyed.

I am currently pregnant with my second and I’ve decided that I want to venture out into the baby wearing world. After lots of research, I determined I wanted to find a great ring sling to try. Wrapping is still a little intimidating to me, especially with a squishy little infant, so I really liked the idea of using a supportive piece of fabric that was easy to use.

As much as I wish I could, I can’t sew. It’s on my bucket list to learn but it’s just not feasible right now. (I mention this because making your own ring sling – if you’re the slightest bit crafty / able to sew – seems quite doable.) I researched many different companies who sell ring slings, and I ultimately decided that I wanted to support a work-at-home-mom instead of a corporation.

Photo source: PAXbaby

Sleeping Baby Productions is a mom who sews each ring sling ordered herself. She’s been in business for about 14 years now. The LLC is a member of BCIA (Baby Carrier Industry Alliance) – which, to me at least, helped me feel confident in my decision to order. I knew my carrier was deemed safe.

SBP operates a bit differently from other companies I’ve ordered from. The shop is closed most of the time. Jan will announce ahead of time when the shop will be open to place an order (typically once every 3 weeks, give or take). On that designated day, she will open up her shop (meaning you can place and pay for an order) until 300 orders have been placed- which happens in the matter of an hour or so. Then, the shop closes again so she can fill those orders. The cycle continues.

Because of this, planning ahead is essential. There are quite a few options to choose from – material, ring color, length, shoulder style, accessories, etc. The turnaround time is 3-10 business days (which I think is incredible for a custom-made item). I personally ordered on the 15th and it was shipped on the 22nd.

I find the SBP website to be incredibly informative and helpful. As I mentioned, I’m a newbie at ring slings, and her detailed pages helped me better understand the new world I was getting myself into. For example, I had a tough time deciding what type of material I wanted to order. She currently offers linen, french twill, stretch twill, organic cotton, and easy care wrap conversions. Each material has it’s own pros and cons- which she details quite well. She even offers custom jobs where you send her the woven wrap you’d like converted and she’ll magically transform it into a ring sling.

A small sample of material and ring color options

I find the pricing is incredibly reasonable for the quality you are receiving. Shop around a bit – you’ll see!

There are many color options for each type of material as well as multiple colors of rings available. The combinations are pretty endless.

After much personal debate, I opted to have a linen ring sling made. I chose ocean turquoise with orange rings in size medium.

I am incredibly impressed with the quality and craftsmanship of the sling. I have not washed it yet (directions to properly do so were included in my package), but I find it rather soft out of the bag. I haven’t been able to use it yet, as my son won’t let me wear him anymore (damn stubborn 2 year olds), so I can’t speak to that aspect just yet. I’ll update once my newborn is here!

Tom and Lauren Tate met each other in college and fell in love (there may or may not have been alcohol involved). Years later, they got married, had a baby and now live happily in Southeastern PA with their little boy. Lauren manages the home, while Tom manages projects at a software company. While their interests range from cooking and working out (her) and playing guitar and video games (him), together they manage to maintain a blog, Little Old Home (www.littleoldhome.com).